New Municipal Manager for Jeffreys Bay

Sydney Fadi, the former manager of Legal Services, has been appointed as Municipal Manager of the Kouga Municipality for a term of five years.

The appointment was confirmed at a special Council Meeting in Jeffreys Bay yesterday.

There was yet another sewage spill on Main beach last week.

Fadi, who has been the acting Municipal Manager since 2011 will be the person tasked with turning around the financial situation in the Kouga, as well as raising the morale of the staff in the Municipality and upgrading the ailing infrastructure.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), the official opposition in the Kouga Council, queried whether the five candidates on the shortlist for the position of Municipal Manager were qualified for the job.

According to new legislation passed last year, an appointment to the position of Municipal Manager can be declared null and void if a candidate does not possess the necessary qualifications and experience for the job.

Kouga, with an annual budget of around R 500 million, has an uphill battle to upgrade the infrastructure of the towns it serves, including Jeffreys Bay, Humansdorp, St Francis Bay and Patensie.

The roads in suburbs like Aston Bay and Ocean View are almost no go zones, particularly when it rains.

There is however, some good news as funding has been secured to finish the upgrade of the Jeffreys Bay wastewater treatment works, situated behind the Fountains Mall. The budget for the upgrade is R 42 million.

Danie Rautenbach was also appointed as acting Director of Technical Services and Town Planning at yesterday’s Council meeting.